Balance Patch
“Notification. I will now report the progress of the sub-quest.”
While Ho-yeong was preparing to defend the relay station, a flurry of news came flying in.
Stage 1 - Defense of Bojedo Village Completed
Trolls Eliminated: 15 (Annihilated)
Casualties: 0 dead, 7 injured (minor injuries)
Monster Losses: 0 dead, 0 injured
Number of Monsters Converted: 0
Stage 2 - Defense of Darckovo Village Completed
Trolls Eliminated: 9 (Annihilated)
Casualties: 0 dead, 5 injured (4 minor, 1 serious)
Monster Losses: 0 dead, 0 injured
Number of Monsters Converted: 0
*Special Note: One troll fled, but was killed by the pack of gnolls guarding the road.
So Meyril and Shrakhim really pulled their weight. And the gnolls kept their promise.
Up to this point, at least, the news was good.
You have recorded the required total of 12 kills to complete the quest. However, the completion rank and reward will be determined only after [Stage 3 - Defense of the Relay Station] ends.
That was ambiguous news.
“No way... Are they going to make this variable difficulty just because the other villages held out well without me?”
As if answering his uneasy premonition, a black-and-red message appeared. Just as Ho-yeong had guessed, variable difficulty had not yet been created.
A negative event has occurred due to the intervention of a hostile NPC.
But something even worse had happened than he expected.
Separate from the sub-quest, a total of 21 trolls are being summoned in three villages south of the relay station, seven trolls per village. These trolls are not being called from a nearby tribe, but summoned from uncharted lands. Time until summoning: 90 minutes.
In addition, powerful mutant trolls will also be summoned during the sub-quest’s [Stage 3 - Defense of the Relay Station].
“What?! More summons? And what the hell are mutant trolls?”
Even the tremor in his pupils was greater than the earthquake Meyril had caused.
The locations of the three southern villages matched the information the elf named Lingling had given Rio.
The place where the trolls appear, the time, and the numbers all line up. But if they aren’t gathering on their own and are being summoned instead... then this was never a prediction in the first place. It was a plan. They mixed truth with lies to shake this place apart.
It was like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The only fortunate thing was that he had moved the villagers who had fled to Bojedo somewhere else instead of sending them back to their original homes.
I made that call because something felt off, and now it’s luck in the middle of disaster. If I’d sent everyone back to their own villages, they would’ve been attacked by trolls all over again. But...
Having one’s home looted while it was empty hardly seemed desirable either.
“What happens if we leave the three southern villages empty and don’t defend them?”
If the trolls discover that a village is completely empty, they will move south and attack other places according to priority. Therefore, it is recommended that you deploy troops to each village and annihilate the trolls.
Ho-yeong wanted to do exactly that, but there was a problem.
Easy to say. Sending a bunch of exhausted militia and soldiers all the way south is impossible on the time we have. At this rate, I’m going to have to send whatever forces the relay station has... but how the hell am I supposed to split such a tiny army? Dammit!
Blocking every route looked impossibly difficult.
And bad news was still waiting in the wings.
Monster loss notification! Hogryphon Vulcher has been killed by a hostile NPC.
Stunned by the disaster that had come crashing down like lightning, Ho-yeong went blank.
“Vulcher... died? What are you talking about...?”
He checked the time. The promised hour for Vulcher’s return had already passed.
Warning. If an entity designated as a guide dies, it will have a major impact on the guardian’s mental state as well.
An intense dizziness and a pounding headache hit him all at once.
“This can’t be...”
The death of Vulcher, who had become dear to him during the journey toward the capital, struck like a heavy blow.
But he couldn’t afford to stand there numb and mourn forever.
I need to find out who these hostile NPCs are and what they want. I also need to locate the search party and the missing children. Pull yourself together, Bang Ho-yeong. You can grieve for Vulcher and swear vengeance later. Right now, focus on the more important things!
He barely managed to hold his rattled mind and heart together.
“And the soldiers? What about the soldiers?! The search party we sent to find the missing children.”
They are still alive, but their exact location and condition cannot be confirmed.
The search party still hadn’t seen a single person return. Something had definitely happened, but with no way to know what, all he could do was grow more and more anxious.
This is your final notification. Variable difficulty will now be applied to the sub-quest.
Ho-yeong nearly collapsed as his strength went out from under him. He didn’t even have the energy left to curse.
Support troops from the capital will arrive shortly.
But, mercifully, the final alert was good news.
The reinforcements are composed of the Holy Knight Order led by Demis Ezef and three mages of the Iolid family.
“Reinforcements? Thank goodness. Just having Demis Ezef would be reassuring, and now the Holy Knights too. I can send the Holy Knights to the southern villages.”
For the first time, he was about to receive the benefits of variable difficulty. That alone let him breathe again, if only a little.
“Iolid... I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere. Still, if mages are coming too, that’s a relief. A relief, but...”
If this had been any other day, he would’ve been bouncing with excitement. But Ho-yeong didn’t smile.
* * *
The Holy Knight Order, which he had expected to be small, turned out to number thirty in all.
“Senior. I’ll ask this carefully. There are a lot of us, sure, but for a whole platoon of Holy Knights to be sent after trolls... Did Her Majesty send you here to help me, to monitor me, or to take me back to the capital?”
Demis Ezef stared at Ho-yeong for a moment, then answered with brutal concision.
“All three.”
“In any case, thank you for coming to help like this.”
No matter what his true purpose might be, they were reinforcements first and foremost. Reliable troops.
“Her Majesty has entrusted command to you, so don’t hesitate to issue orders. However, I alone must remain at the side of the Border Count.”
He told Ho-yeong not to feel burdened, yet those solemn eyes of his did nothing but add pressure.
Is he saying I’m suspicious, so he’s going to keep me under constant watch? Well, I was planning to leave the relay station defense to Demis anyway, so I don’t care.
Ho-yeong organized the remaining Holy Knights, excluding Demis and the five under him, into three squads.
“From this moment on, you will each move down to the villages and prepare for the troll attacks. Exterminate the trolls, but do your best to avoid damaging the villagers’ property whenever possible. The map here shows the trolls’ summoning locations and the times they’ll appear, so use it as reference. Any squad that completes its task is to move and assist the others, and once all combat is over, return here.”
The Holy Knights were excellent damage dealers and tanks. Eight of them taking on seven trolls each would be nothing.
“To think some unknown being is tearing open dimensional rifts to summon trolls... I can’t believe it.”
“We’ve heard that such things are happening in other places too, so fine, let’s accept the summoning part. But how on earth do you know the exact time and place, Border Count?”
Some of the knights made their suspicion of Ho-yeong plain.
You call yourselves Holy Knights, and yet your eyes are full of mistrust instead of faith!
Ho-yeong was just about to snap back when Demis stopped him with a glance and stepped forward in his place.
“Cast aside your doubts. The Border Count is speaking the truth. Hariad’s wings have not trembled, so why do you refuse to believe?”
“But, Vice-Commander...”
“Her Majesty herself said she trusts the Border Count! To doubt the Border Count is to betray the Crown’s trust. How can you raise a Holy Knight’s sword while distrusting both the angel you serve and the lord you owe allegiance to? How can you follow orders if you do not trust your fellow knight and commander, the Border Count, or even me, your superior? You are failures both as clergy and as soldiers! I am disappointed. No—utterly appalled!”
At their vice-commander’s disappointed rebuke, the knights bowed their heads.
“What we must hold is faith and faith alone. What we must show is courage and courage alone. And yet you do the opposite, clinging to doubt and showing only baseness! Will you disgrace the kingdom’s people in their time of crisis?”
“No!”
“Will you obey the Border Count’s orders?”
“We will!”
For once, Ho-yeong was grateful for Demis’s gravity and iron-backed nature.
“I’m sorry to have shown you such a disappointing side of us.”
“Not at all. I’d also like to see you win a great victory and leave the vice-commander with nothing to be disappointed in.”
Ho-yeong had even considered making Demis the guide for the Holy Knight Order, but unfortunately, his edification rate was just a little short.
“Ahem. Hmm.”
The three men of the neglected Iolid marquisate cleared their throats.
“Ah, right. I’d forgotten the mages.”
He opened the status window and read the backstory.
Ashk Iolid ★★★★
[ Stat｜Grade｜Base Value ~ Maximum Value ]
Strength F: 7 ~ 9 (Please don’t make the old man fight.)
Intelligence B+: 73 ~ 77
Mana S: 90 ~ 92
Charm C: 27 ~ 35
Leadership B: 70 ~ 78
Mental Fortitude C: 32 ~ 35 (Quirk: places great importance on the honor of the family)
Edification F: 1 ~ 2 (I’m not very pleased to be saddled with troublesome work because of the guardian.)
*Background*
The head of one of the most renowned magical families in the Western Continent and a senior member of the noble council. As the master of the Magic Tower, he wields enormous influence in mage society.
That said, he is despairing because he believes the glory of the family will end with his own generation. His eldest and second sons have only average magical talent, and his third son, despite his brilliant potential, lost all his mana after the aftereffects of resurrection.
Reading the status window and background story, Ho-yeong finally remembered the information Sicoop had mentioned in passing.
“I heard about it, mal-im-ni-da. The second son? Or was it the third? Anyway, one mage from the Iolid family died in a dungeon and, when he was resurrected, lost all his mana. I think there were a few people like that in the Chronicles of Mages too.”
“Really? That’s terrible.”
So the third son who became mana-dead is probably holed up in the manor like a broken shell? If he didn’t come here, that must be it. Good—if I play this right, I can kill two birds with one stone!
Thinking of a way to use that third son, Ho-yeong greeted the mages politely.
“Marquis Iolid, this is our first meeting. And greetings to your sons as well. I am Joren Tamer, Border Count.”
“You know me?”
The marquis tilted his head.
The vice-commander, that stubborn old mule, hadn’t even introduced them, so how did this young knight know the father and sons?
“Of course. I have long admired Your Lordship’s lofty reputation and virtue. You must be tired after such a long-distance spatial transfer, and I’m sorry I can’t receive you properly in this place so thick with war. You there, bring a chair for the marquis.”
The marquis’s eyes widened in surprise.
He’d heard that the knight who’d been born a commoner had piled up enough military merit to become noble, so he’d expected a stiff, unpleasant fellow. Instead, this young man knew his manners quite well.
“Hmm. Thank you for saying so. Very well, what would you have us do?”
“The three of you will help defend this relay station together. The villages will be sufficiently handled by the Holy Knights, and since mutant trolls are expected here, we intend to prepare for anything and everything.”
“Understood. But first, Kristian, hand that item to the Border Count.”
What the eldest son brought over was the Bakgyeokpo.
“My apologies, Tamer. In this old man’s carelessness, I seem to have taken something important of yours.”
After hearing the explanation tied to the Bakgyeokpo, Ho-yeong could only laugh in weary disbelief.
“It’s fine. I had a rough idea already. More importantly, Marquis, there’s something I need to tell you in confidence.”
Ho-yeong leaned in and whispered to the Iolid marquis.
“I-Is that really so? If that’s all it takes, then I’ll follow your suggestion. Is it truly possible?”
“I swear it on my knight’s honor.”